Picking a Windows Phone: HTC's new 8X vs Nokia's Lumia 920

HTC has unveiled it's "Signature" Windows Phone 8 handsets to battle the iPhone 5 and Android army. But how does it compare to Nokia's new Windows phones?

If you have your eyes on the new Windows Phone 8 handsets, HTC is now the latest to show off new phones, unveiling the 8X and 8S smartphones running Microsoft's new mobile operating system.

The new 4in HTC 8S sports a 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 512MB of RAM, up to 16GB of onboard storage, a 5-megapixel camera and tough Gorilla Glass. Meanwhile the high-end 4.3in 8X opts for a more powerful 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, Gorilla Glass 2, an 8-megapixel camera and the addition of Near Field Communications for short-range wireless interactions.

If you're considering a new Windows phone, the other major brand is Nokia, which launched the new Nokia Lumia 920 and 820 recently. So what are the differences?

The new HTC phones don't have "4G" (LTE)

High-speed LTE mobile broadband is notably absent on both new HTC Windows Phone 8 models, even though LTE is available in the Lumia 920 and 820 Windows Phone 8 handsets recently unveiled by Nokia in New York. Apple's iPhone 5 also adds LTE, as do a range of Android smartphones such as Motorola's latest Razr handsets, HTC's One XL and the Samsung Galaxy S III 4G.

Of HTC's new Windows Phone 8 handsets, only the high-end 8X supports both the 850 MHz frequency used by Telstra's HSDPA network and the 900 MHz frequency favoured by Optus and Vodafone. So Telstra customers are unlikely to get the choice of the cheaper 8S model which only supports 900/2100 MHz HSDPA.

Other Lumia features the HTC 8X doesn't have

At first glance HTC's 8X looks strikingly similar to Nokia's flagship Lumia 920. But at closer inspection the Lumia 920 comes out in front. It's slightly thicker and heavier, but it offers a larger 4.5in display with a slightly higher resolution at 1280x768. The Lumia 920 also offers LTE, a larger battery, wireless charging, extra storage and a slightly sharper camera.

HTC and Microsoft have dubbed the new handsets the first "Signature Windows Phone" handsets, with HTC confirming the new handsets with be "featured most frequently in the Microsoft Windows Phone campaign".

What do we think?
Business users could be attracted to the Windows Phone 8 upgrade by Microsoft's decision to build the new operating system on the same Windows NT kernel and Windows 8 computers and tablets. But it's early days for the new Windows 8 ecosystem and it's worth waiting until at least Microsoft's official launch in October to see what else is unveiled.

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